Dropping Fuel Tank

[1991eagleawd]

So my car started chugging, changed fuel filter, and she was fill of rust!!!!
pulled the rail, and two of four injectors were clogged.
I bought the car of a old chap that had it sitting for 7 years in his garage.
I noticed the smell of gas to find a hole in filler neck.

So I have been through a few filters and have decide there must be a fair amount of crud in my tank. I want to drop the tank, lines and everything fuel. And redo it all. Never done it and am hoping someone has and can chime in with some tips. Should I "repair" tank? replace, fuel cell? I am going to upgrade to a larger pump, larger injectors, and hoping to do new plastic lines?

 

[habitatguy187]

It's pretty straight-forward really. Only advice I have for you is to soak everything in pb blaster a day or two before. The fuel pump sending unit fittings can be a real bi***, along with the little 8mm sending unit bolts that hold it to the tank.

So yeah, pb blaster AND time for it to work.

 

[Purple_Demon]

Just for the sake of being cost effective, drop the tank and take it to someone that can inspect it, pressure test it, and repair it if necessary. Because from what I have been told(supposedly) 1G tanks are not cheap. I just dropped the tank out of my talon a few months ago.

Here is what you do:

1 Disconnect battery
2. Drain all gas using the drain plug
3. Use pb blaster or deep creep to get the bolts broken loose
4. Break all 6 or 7 bolts loose but do not take them off
5. Break the fuel fitting loose on the front top section of the tank and disconnect all the rubber lines up top.
6. Take out the cover plate in the trunk and remove the fuel pump from the tank(it was the easiest way for me to do it then) but I believe you can leave it attached to the tank just unplug the pump.
7. Attempt to get the 90* rubber neck loosened that goes into the tank. There are two style hose clamps on it. Mine were corroded very badly so i just cut through the rubber neck and went and got a new one. Mine was hard as a rock.
8. At this time you should be able to drop the tank out. My bolt holes were not perfect so there was a big of tugging that was involved. but it comes out after that.

That should be everything you need to do in order to drop it out. But with the injectors and filter being rust filled I would have that tank cleaned at the minimum, possibly get a new fuel filter sock from the dealer along with getting the lines cleaned if possible.

Overall its not hard at all, just a PITA and time consuming. I would not put a fuel cell under where the tank goes. But putting one in the hatch area is an option, but the large space underneath for the actual fuel tank is so big that i would just use a stock one.


Now would also be a perfect time to upgrade to a 6 or 8 AN sized fuel line


Do not go to plastic lines. They are metal from factory and should stay that way. if you bottom out metal lines they crush. Bottom out plastic lines and you have a big mess of gas. Yes i would also consider upgrading fuel pumps as well since you are already there.


Sorry if the post was a jarbled mess. If you need anymore info just pm me or post back!

 

[stars]

Drop tank check inside and clean, reinstall new fuel pump w/ fuel strainer. Check and replace any line from tank to the fuel filter/blow thru the lines, check for debris. Blow thru the fuel filter line outlet to injector inlet. Check and replace any metal line that is restricted and replace any worn out/cracked rubber hoses with proper rated "fuel" type of hosing if needed. Replace all hose clamps, washers with new ones. Assemble all components and fill with fresh gasoline. If it stays running then you fixed it problem. The key is to get all the trash out of the lines so it doesn't end up clogging the fuel delivery system again.

 

[Chimchar1]

I'm dropping the fuel tank on my 90 tsi as well. I would order a new tank from somewhere. just make shure if you have to go to a junkyard that the car you are taking it from has awd. I paid 150$ used shipped to me for my new to me tank.

 

[91stocker]

A small warning though. Some if not all the studs holding the fuel pump assembly will brake off. Mine did.

I tapped and replaced them with ss studs and hardware. Like this link shows.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/256249-replacing-broken-fuel-pump-studs.html


There are some "tank restore" kits out there as well. It turned out very nice on mine. I used it on the outside of the tank and the top of the fuel pump assembly.

If your considering replacing the lines a -6 an set up is fairly cheap. This link will help with that. Its how i did mine and fairly straight forward.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/254501-high-flow-fuel-set-up.html

 

[2g_420a]

i once had a vehicle that sat for that long with the same issue. i was stupid and used meratic acid in the gas tank which caused little pinholes. i would replace the tank and everything in it. alot of gunk builds up over time. also if you want to be extra safe replace all lines filters and everything that fuel runs through that way you know you will not have a problem...

 

[1991eagleawd]

I love this site!!!!!!!! Thank everyone for their input!!!!